By Carol E. Lee
Afghan Plan Aims to Satisfy Cautious Generals and Restive Public at Same Time.
President Barack Obamas decision to start returning U.S. troops from Afghanistan is a gamble that that he can balance two competing realities: demands from the Pentagon that he leave enough boots on the ground to finish the job and demands from Congress and the American public that he end the longest war in the nations history.
By the fall of 2012 Mr. Obama will have brought home the 33000 troops he deployed 18 months ago. But this year the bulk of those surge troops will remain in Afghanistan raising the possibility Americans wont find the presidents initial withdrawal of roughly 10000 troops as significant as he promised. Moreover much of the 100000 total force will be in place when he runs for re-election.
The American people are not just interested in bringing the troops home who were part of the surge. They want to bring all the troops home said Rep. Jim McGovern (D. Mass.) who called Mr. Obamas drawdown plan insufficient and unacceptable.
Mr. Obama is under bipartisan pressure to speed up the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Mr. McGovern and Rep. Walter Jones (R. N.C.) sponsored an amendment late last month requiring an accelerated drawdown. It was narrowly defeated but picked up more support particularly from Republicans than a similar measure a year ago. Dozens of House members sent a letter to the president urging a significant withdrawal.
In the Senate liberal Democrats joined forces with tea party conservatives last week to call on Mr. Obama to begin a sizable and sustained drawdown. Lawmakers are expressing similar angst over U.S. participation in North Atlantic Treaty Organization air strikes on Libya.
The pressure to leave Afghanistan has increased since the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan on May 2. For the first time the majority of Americans say U.S. troops should withdraw as soon as possible according to a Pew Research Center poll released this week. The 56 of Americans who support a fast withdrawal is an all-time high for the poll and an eight-point rise since bin Ladens death.
Cost is a big factor. Mr. Obama needs to listen to his commanders but keep in mind that the goal is to get those young men and women back to American soil as soon as possible said Sen. Jon Tester (D. Mont.). Weve got to get the deficit and the debt under control and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are part of that.
Mr. Obama did not present a time frame for removing the rest of the troops by the NATO-set deadline of 2014. We will continue to reduce the number of our troops over time as we approach the goal of full transition to the Afghans by 2014 said a senior administration official. Were not trying to make Afghanistan a perfect place he said. Were trying to support a government that can stand on its own.
Looming large in the background is the 2012 election. Democratic support for the war is dropping and more Republicans are criticizing Mr. Obama on Afghanistan amid a split in the party on the issue. He faces pushback from Republicans who favor a more sustained involvement in Afghanistan while some GOP presidential candidates are taking the opposite tack.
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Mr. Obamas former ambassador to China who announced his candidacy Tuesday has called for an aggressive drawdown. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas said last week that if he were president he would withdraw U.S. troops as quickly as possible. The Pew poll said support for pulling troops has doubled among Republicans and independents aligned with the tea party.
Mr. Obama has himself raised expectations. He has said the initial number of troops withdrawn would be significant. After the death of bin Laden he also said the U.S. has accomplished a big chunk of its Afghan mission.
A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows that while the country is split on the timing of withdrawal from Afghanistan Democrats and an increasing number of independents would like a faster exit than the one Mr. Obama chose. There is a political upside for Mr. Obama in his decision specifically with voters who think Democrats are not tough enough on national-security issues and might see the presidents willingness to stick it out in Afghanistan as a sign of resolve. Mr. Obamas core Democratic supporters however wont take that view.
Its going to add to his re-election woes said Alex Bratty a pollster at Public Opinion Strategies LLC which helps conduct the WSJ/NBC poll. If we get into this time next year and there are still 70000 troops over there his base is not going to be happy.
Mr. Obamas decision didnt completely satisfy the military either. The surge forces will exit a couple of months earlier than officials had wanted. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday cited the tensions pulling the president in the other direction. There are concerns among the American people who are tired of a decade of war Mr. Gates said.
Siobhan Hughes contributed to this article.
